B006P1R39O EBOK (10 page)

The church appeared to be deserted, but the lighting was so dim she couldn’t be sure.

Forcing one foot in front of the other, she made her way past row after row of pews. Candles were lit on both sides of the altar - the flickering light of the flames adding to the menacing atmosphere of the empty chapel.

Suddenly her heart seemed to swell painfully within her chest. She was filled with so much sadness that Kathrina became sure she was feeling every tear that had ever been shed from the beginning of time.

Kathrina was startled by a soft - feminine voice. “Sometimes even the light of heaven cannot banish the darkness.”

Her eyes scanned the chapel. At first she didn’t see anyone, but when she looked again, there was a petite form kneeling near the first row of pews.

Taking a couple of steps closer, Kathrina tried to see who had spoken. It was difficult to make out too much detail. The young woman was draped in a black nun’s habit, but there were wisps of brown hair straying from beneath her headdress.

The nun lifted her head and looked directly at her. Kathrina found herself being drawn in by the remarkable coloring of the woman’s eyes. They were the eyes of the wolf, but there was something very different about them - a bright ring of blue surrounded the iris of each eye.

“Who are you?” Kathrina asked, though she already knew the answer.

The nun smiled. “Evil can take many forms.”

As she stared, blood started seeping from the woman’s eyes. Startled, Kathrina took a step back, but before she could digest what she was seeing the image changed.

Where the nun had been was now a monster - a demon. Its skin resembled that of a rotting corpse - its eyes as red as blood. When the creature smiled at her, she saw rows of sharp - brown teeth that almost looked like needles.

The demon’s arm flew at her. She couldn’t move; it was wrapping its claws around her arm. Kathrina screamed, flailing her arms in an attempt to break free.

Her eyes flew open. A doctor and nurse were leaning over her bed, holding her down. Realizing that she’d been having a nightmare, Kathrina grew still.

“Are you okay now?” The doctor asked.

Kathrina nodded her head. “I need to get out of here,” she gasped.

“We can’t release you yet.”

Ignoring him, Kathrina threw the covers off and sat up on the side of the bed.

“You really shouldn’t leave yet. There could still be an infection.” The doctor tried to reason with her.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Where are my clothes?”

* * *

Kathrina entered the parlor, careful to shut the door behind her. The room was much like any other room in the house, except it was dark. It was the second door that would lead to the small - windowless room where her father slept. Though it was already midday, there was no sunlight to cut through the thick darkness. Heavy red velvet curtains covered the windows, but it wouldn’t have mattered if they were bare. Donavan had the windows painted black. It was a precaution, just in case someone entered his bedchamber during the day.

Behind that second door she knew she would find a large mahogany coffin. That was where Donavan slept. She also knew that the door would be locked. In the beginning her father had slept in a regular bed in that room, but it was getting too dangerous now. Their enemies were too close.

Kathrina pounded on the door. After waiting several minutes for him to answer, she knocked again.

You’ll wake the dead.

Her mom had always told her that when she was a kid. Why had she remembered it now?

“Waking the dead is a lot harder than you think mom,” Kathrina spoke out loud, talking to the woman who had adopted her. Kayla had raised her as her own daughter, and though Kathrina loved her wolf mother, she’d never been able to relate to her. Something told her that her relationship with her biological mother might have been just as strained.

A nun!

How would she have related to a mother who was a nun?

From behind the door Kathrina could hear the sound of the coffin lid lifting. “Donavan … I have to talk to you,” she called out.

A moment later the door opened a crack. Donavan’s eyes were black; a reflection of his mood, Kathrina guessed.

Donavan opened the door wider and stepped aside so she could enter. For some reason she had always imagined that the room her father slept in would look different. She had been expecting all of the modern conveniences, a stereo and a TV, but there was none of that. It was so gothic. That was the only word she could find to describe it.

Of course there was the coffin, but she’d known that. On each side of the coffin were stone gargoyles. Each of the creatures held a candle in their hand.

The room was sparsely furnished with only a red velvet Victorian couch and a chair.

The look on her face gave away her thoughts.

Donavan smiled. “I see that you find the reality of what your father is … somewhat distasteful.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kathrina said. “I have to ask you about something?”

Donavan said nothing so she continued.

“What do you know about my mother … and I don’t mean just the nonsense I’ve been told.”

“Nonsense!” he said, arching one brow. “And what makes you think it’s all nonsense?”

“How did you meet her … who was she? Are there such things as demons? Who is Luciano … really?” She fired off all the questions that had been nagging at her since she found the Book of Anu in her mother’s tomb.

“Slow down Kathrina, or you’ll have a seizure.”

“Please … I deserve to know.”

“Why is it that you are asking such crazy questions?”

“I found the Book of Anu in my mother’s tomb. I know that she was a nun … a nun!” Kathrina repeated it as if she couldn’t quite absorb the fact.

“You found the Book of Anu?” Donavan seemed on the verge of losing his cool composure.

“Yes.” Kathrina folded her arms in front of her, determined to stand her ground.

“So it was you who called Luciano here?”

“I didn’t know that’s what would happen,” she defended herself.

Kathrina noticed that Donavan had steered the conversation away from her mother. She had to wonder if it was because he was angry about the book, or if he’d done it on purpose.

“My mom?” she asked again.

“Kathrina wasn’t always a nun,” he told her.

“So how did you meet her … who was she?”

“I met your mother in Transylvania,” Donavan told her, as he sat down on the couch.

Kathrina was a little startled to see that her father appeared old and tired. It was just for a split second, but she was sure that she hadn’t imagined it.

For that small instant in time, she had seen a reflection of what was in his soul? She had no doubt that after an eternity of darkness and heartbreak, the spirit had to grow weak.

“On one night each year there is a vampire ball at Dracula’s castle. There was a time when I would attend this ball in search of easy prey. It is amazing how many victims carelessly frolic within the shadow of death,” Donavan shrugged his shoulders before adding, “The hunt was easy and always fruitful. It was there that I met your mother.”

Kathrina shook her head. “You mean Vlad’s castle? Dracula is not real.”

“Isn’t he?” Donavan asked, a smile touching his lips.

Kathrina drew her brows together in confusion. “Are you seriously trying to tell me that Dracula is not a fictional character? Everyone knows that Vlad was the inspiration for Dracula.”

Donavan laughed. “Oh my sweet baby girl … you are still so ignorant of our world.”

Kathrina scowled, certainly not finding the situation nearly as amusing as her father apparently did.

“Smokescreens,” he laughed. “Dracula is certainly real … he was a nobleman. Mr. Stoker had more of an intimate knowledge of vampires than what the world gives him credit for.”

Kathrina dismissed what her father was saying. She had far more important things to worry about than some old legends and a dead writer. “So you met my mother at this ball?” she asked.

“I did.”

“And?” Kathrina pushed him.

“I had never met a more enchanting woman.”

Donavan didn’t seem to want to offer too much information about her mother and she was getting very impatient. “Did Luciano kill my mother?”

“That I don’t know … but it is a possibility. Your mother was a lot like you. There was a light about her that drew the immortal like a moth to a flame. He knew your mother, and I believe he thought that she was a cure, as he believes you are. I took her away from Transylvania. I’m sure that he resented that.”

“But she was a wolf … a natural enemy. What would she be doing at a vampire ball?” Kathrina was still confused. Nothing about her mother made sense.

“She was there with the Light Seekers … as a sort of missionary. Kathrina was determined to turn the vampires from their murderous ways. She was really the beginning of the Light Seekers.” Donavan shook his head sadly. “Your mother had a good heart, but it is probably what got her killed. Keeping company with vampires isn’t a good idea.”

“So you think the Light Seekers might know more about what happened to my mother?” Kathrina asked.

“They might,” he told her. “But remember Kathrina … be very careful who you trust.”

“What about demons? Do you believe in that kind of evil?” Kathrina asked.

“For everything that you see in the world, remember that there is far more that you cannot see.” Donavan stood up, bringing their conversation to a close.

“Thanks.” She gave him a strained smile. “I’m sorry for waking you.”

Kathrina hadn’t gotten as much information from Donavan as she’d have liked, but at least she had some idea of where she could go to find out more.

* * *

After paying the taxi driver, Kathrina got out and stepped over the rain-swollen gutter and onto the narrow sidewalk. The Déjà vu tattoo shop was dark. In the window was a hastily made sign.

Closed Until Further Notice

What was going on?

Dash had come to see her in the hospital, but hadn’t mentioned anything about closing his shop.

Kathrina was suddenly hit with a feeling of foreboding. She couldn’t quite put her finger on where exactly the feeling was coming from, but something wasn’t right. Maybe it was because finding the shop dark and empty was unsettling to her. It seemed Dash was always around when they needed him, but the empty shop gave off the feeling of abandonment and hopelessness.

Had Dash lost hope?

Though finding the shop empty was unnerving, there was something else bothering her - something that she hadn’t noticed at first.

Someone was watching her.

The sensation of eyes boring into her was unmistakable. Taking a deep breath Kathrina peered down the dark street. Whoever was watching her was hidden within the shadows - beyond the reach of the streetlights.

Should she run or pretend that she hadn’t noticed?

Before she had time to decide, she heard a small voice behind her. Startled, Kathrina nearly crawled out of her skin.

“Are you looking for Dash?”

Although unsure of what exactly it was that she’d been expecting, it wasn’t what she saw when she turned around.

A small boy was peeking his head around the side of the building. He couldn’t have been more than ten years old. The first thought that ran through her mind was that the boy was too young to be out at night - especially in an area of town that was infested with vampires.

That was what she thought at first, but as she watched the boy, she realized there was something wrong. He was too pale and disheveled. He almost appeared to be dead.

“What’s your name?” Kathrina asked.

“Chad.”

“Chad who?”

“Just Chad,” he told her in a tight - guarded voice.

“Well everyone has a last name … what’s yours?” Kathrina asked again.

“Chad nobody,” he said, glaring at her.

Sensing that the boy was ready to bolt, Kathrina figured that she had better tread lightly.

“Do you know where Dash is?” she asked, changing the subject.

Once the boy realized that her attention had turned to something else, he was visibly relieved. “I might know where he’s at … depends on who you are?”

“I’m a friend of his,” Kathrina smiled, hoping to further disarm him.

Kathrina took two cautious steps toward the child; as she got nearer, she felt her heart sink. Once she could see him better, it was hard to mistake him for anything other than what he was. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent. The boy’s hair was caked with dirt to the point that she could not tell what color it was. More than anything, it was his eyes that gave it away. His soft brown eyes shone with the light of the vampire’s hunger.

Turning a child was forbidden. If it was found that a vampire turned a child, the punishment was death of that vampire, as well as the child.